Sterling Man Charged with Production of Child Pornography

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Daniel Cortez, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service; and Steve Simpson, Loudoun County Sheriff, made the announcement.

On Nov. 17, 2011, a federal grand jury returned a four count indictment charging Forrest with two counts of producing child pornography, one count of distributing child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for each production count and a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years for receipt or distribution.

According to court documents, Shiloh Forrest allegedly sent child pornography videos to an undercover U.S. Postal Inspector in December 2010. In June 2011, numerous computers were seized from Forrest’s residence, and court documents allege that a subsequent computer forensics examination revealed that Forrest had used a cell phone to record himself engaging in sexual acts with a prepubescent child in his Sterling apartment and also at an Ocean City, Md., hotel in the summer of 2010.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Gerald Smagala is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.